Har Har Mahadev Review - Sharad Kelkar's Electrifying Act Saves The Mediocre Vision Of Abhijeet Deshpande In This Legendary Tale

The presence of Subodh Bhave as Chhatrapati Shivaji and Sharad Kelkar in the role of Baji Prabhu Deshpande has made Har Har Mahadev the biggest Marathi film of the year. Abhijeet Deshpande shares the same surname as the brave warrior, Baji Prabhu Deshpande, so his coming up with a film on his life was definitely exciting. One thing that decreased the excitement was Digpal Lanjekar's Pavan Khind, which was based on the same topic was released in February of this year. It is becoming too mainstream nowadays. Every 2-3 months, we have a historical film made on Chhatrapati Shivaji or his warriors, which results in deducting the potential of those films. Pavan Khind was awaited even before the pandemic, so it emerged as a super hit despite average content. Abhijeet Deshpande carries the same story with some additional affairs and a long narrative. Har Har Mahadev tells the backstory of Baji Prabhu Deshpande, which we never got to see on screen. We have seen his famous fight in Ghod Khind, but we hardly know about how he joined forces with Shivaji. Director Deshpande takes that challenge, but his overuse of cinematic liberty and hard-core action spoils the fun. I saw Snyder's 300 when I was in college and always thought this legendary tale of 300 warriors was so similar to our history of Baji Prabhu Deshpande. I kept asking myself when we would have a film made on that scale and with such high vision. But it seems that it's not possible for today's filmmakers, who are too obsessed with outdated hardcore visions. Maybe someday, if Rajamouli attempts it. If he can make Bahubali and RRR so grand and visually splendid despite their weak writing, then just imagine what he will do with the legendary tales from the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Abhijeet Deshpande is a huge admirer of Rajamouli, but he doesn't seem to have that kind of vision, or even half of that. His previous outing with Subodh Bhave, Ani Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar, was underwhelming too (it was a Super hit at the box office). Of course, Subodh Bhave had already done classic biopics like Balgandharva and Lokmanya: Ek Yugpurush and Kashinath was nowhere close to that. With Har Har Mahadev, I expected Deshpande to recover the loss, but here he lost a few more bucks. Har Har Mahadev is hardly an average flick with outdated action scenes and a terrible execution of Mr. Deshpande that might please kids. Har Har Mahadev is not just about Baji Prabhu Deshpande, but it also pulls off other famous events from the nearby period. From Baji Prabhu's early days before he joined Shivaji and Shivaji's famous meeting with Afzal Khan at Pratapgadh to Baji Prabhu's extraordinary battle in the Pavan Khind, Har Har Mahadev carries three stories together. Deshpande has written a film from a different perception, but I think that's one of the big mistakes here. Even Om Raut did the same thing with his Tanhaji, but his brilliant cinematic vision didn't let people think about it. We have all been hearing about Shivaji Maharaj and his mawla's stories since childhood. I have grown up with them, from history books to TV series to YouTube videos. These stories are stored in my head. What we know about Pavan Khind is that Baji Prabhu was a loyal servant of Shivaji Maharaj, but here Deshpande shows him as a very self-centred and confused man. That's so stupid, man. Stop using cinematic liberty in the stories that have already been fitted into people's minds. Why should that freedom of cinematic liberty taint our historical narratives? Better save it for fictional action epics. Even that point is arguable, but who wants to see the same story with different anecdotes? Pavan Khind shows something different, Har Har Mahadev has something different to say, the TV serial has school books followed, and then YouTube videos show something totally different. Why can't everybody keep it just the same.Har Har Mahadev is filled with outdated scenes and hard-core action sequences that looked great in the 80s. In one of the scenes, Siddhi Johar throws a javelin at a distance where others need arrows to reach, and guess what, he hits it through a man. Holy smoke! Even Olympic gold medal winner Neeraj Chopra won't be able to do that. Then, in the next scene, he meets Baji Prabhu there, alone. Yet, there were no fights, no weapons, and they just let each other go as if they were casual friends. The action scenes have terrible pauses and illogical waving. Baji Prabhu can fly like an Iron Man, while somebody would suddenly come and hit him with a hammer or a rock. What were you doing up till now, boys? Why does Baji have to be shown as such a disrespectful man when you are going to show his great sacrifice at the end? And what were other clever people doing when Baji was openly talking about finishing Shivaji? Tell me, who would have heard that in real? Sharad Kelkar's electrifying performance comes to the rescue in this dated, mediocre show. He is fantastic as Baji and suits the character very well. He played Chhatarapati Shivaji with so much conviction in Om Raut's Tanhaji, and now he repeats the same success with Abhijeet Deshpande's Har Har Mahadev. Subodh Bhave may be a man of biopics in the Marathi cinema industry, but he could have done a lot better as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj here. That magic of Balgandharva and Lokmanya was missing here. Amruta Khanvilkar and Sayli Sanjeev had small roles, but they did their best. I am not sure whether Milind Shinde was playing himself or Siddi Johar. The supporting cast is strictly okay.Coming to the technical aspects of Har Har Mahadev, it seemed like a very lavish film. However, it hasn't been used up to its potential. The sets and visuals are good, while the cinematography is fantastic in some scenes. The background score lacks vibrating values, but that Baji Ra Zunjar Baji Ra really stays with you for some time. Har Har Mahadev has some breathtaking action scenes and jittering dialogues that enhance your viewing experience. The editing could have been better, though. It is a long film, about 160 minutes, which wasn't necessary at all. Abhijeet Deshpande talks well about SS Rajamouli, but it would have been much better if he could have matched even half of his vision. Har Har Mahadev was a great opportunity to create a Magnum Opus that would be celebrated by cinema lovers beyond regional borders like 300, Bahubali, and RRR. But all he wanted to make was an average lavish film that would fade away from people's minds as soon as they reached home from the theatre. Enough of these mediocritties, man. These legendary tales of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and history of Maratha deserve legendary films like Ben Hur, Mayabazar and Mughal E Azam, not this typical outdated and tiring action mania. I hope our filmmakers will understand this very soon.